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CPB inspector to investigate whether stations broke
law in self-defense

Originally published in Current, Nov. 21, 2005

CPB Inspector General Kenneth A. Konz says he will open an inquiry
into whether public TV and radio stations used federal funds to urge listeners
and viewers
to lobby Congress in response to last summer's proposed funding cuts.

The investigation, first reported by Bloomberg News, was requested in August
by 18 Republican lawmakers led by Ginny Brown-Waite (R-Fla.), Konz told Current.
The request was in response to stations' successful campaign in June to rally
opposition to $100 million in proposed cuts to CPB's $400 million appropriation
for fiscal 2006.

The House restored the full appropriation after pubcasting fans decried
the proposed cuts in calls to legislators. Final 2006 budget figures are
still pending.

Federal law prohibits stations from using CPB funds to lobby Congress. Konz,
fresh off a big investigation, said he will soon send accounting surveys
to all stations receiving CPB grants to identify which funds were used to
pay for the political efforts. He also may visit some stations.

NPR and APTS sources were confident that stations used the proper funds
for their web alerts, public service announcements and other outreach.

“The stations are well aware of the rules regarding use of CPB money
. . . and we're confident that in efforts undertaken last summer, they continued
to honor the letter and spirit of the law,” said NPR spokeswoman Andi
Sporkin.

Public TV stations also used nonfederal resources to inform viewers about
the cuts, said APTS President John Lawson. Brown-Waite's charges amount to
an effort to silence stations' First Amendment rights, Lawson said.

Konz acknowledged that the lawmakers' request may be a political counterstrike.
Last summer, Brown-Waite was one of the House's most vocal critics of federal
funding for pubcasting. Nevertheless, “they are correct that if any
CPB funds were used for this purpose, it would be a potential violation of
law,” he said.